Joyful Motherhood in a Rural Family

Chapter 273: 271: Cui’er discusses the past, the initial choice

“Sister-in-law, your handiwork is miles ahead of mine. Since this is a garment you’ve sewn for father, it would be better if you gave it to him yourself, rather than having me pass it along. Don’t you think so?”

Looking at Liu Sisi’s gentle smile, Ms. Xin’s smile grew even sweeter.

She quickly rolled up the cotton pants and held them, “Everyone says Third Sister-in-law is reasonable, and indeed you are! Since that’s the case, I’ll go find father now.”

With that, she walked happily towards the inner room.

Liu Sisi squinted at Cui’er’s departing back, suddenly suspecting, was Cui’er’s purpose of coming here today to seek out father?

Thinking of father’s attitude towards her former mother-in-law, Liu Sisi couldn’t help but feel uneasy, and strived to listen to what was happening in the inner room.

“Father! Please accept this! No matter what, these cotton pants represent mother-in-law’s heartfelt thoughts…Aiya!”

The low exclamation from Cui’er inside the room surprised Liu Sisi, making her move even closer to the window.

Cui’er’s heartbroken voice was heard again: “Father, even if you’re still angry with my mother, even if it was former mother-in-law who was accidentally killed by my mother… no one can return from death. And these years, she’s been wholeheartedly serving you, repenting for her past mistakes. Isn’t it enough to offset the sins committed in those years?”

Liu Sisi was greatly shocked!

The former mother-in-law, Ms. Dou, was killed by Ms. Zhao?

She really didn’t know about this. But did Di Yelei and Di Gaoyuan know?

Liu Sisi’s heart was in turmoil, completely at a loss.

At the moment, there was a commotion inside the room, along with Cui’er’s screams. It was accompanied by a series of bangs, and then came Cui’er’s anxious voice: “Father! Father, mom said if you don’t forgive her, she would…Father! Father…”

Bang!

The room door closed in front of Cui’er, and she immediately rushed forward to knock on the door.

“Father, please let me explain! Mom knows she was wrong, can you forgive her just this once? Father, father!”

Unyieldingly knocking on the door, the next moment, the door was pulled open.

“Father, please forgive mom! Throughout the years she has been by your side, she worked hard…oh! Father…”

What met her words was the new cotton pants suddenly thrown out from inside.

Bang!

The door closed again!

Elderly Mr. Di’s angry, intermittent roars came from inside: “Even in death I won’t…forgive her…get out!”

What on earth happened in the old house those days?

Liu Sisi had always thought it was a case of a family splintering as it grew, but the current situation seemed to have more undercurrents. And these undercurrents might even involve someone’s life.

Watching Cui’er turned around with an expression of disappointment, Liu Sisi hastily stepped aside, hiding in the firewood room.

Watching Little Cui’er carry the cotton pants and walk towards the courtyard with three steps of disappointment, she only then picked up a bundle of firewood at random and left the firewood room.

“Why didn’t our sister-in-law give the cotton pants to our dad? It’s cold outside, why don’t we sit in the kitchen?”

Ms. Xin bowed her head and looked at the messy footprints under the window, covering her mouth and laughed!

“Since Third Sister-in-law invited us, how can Cui’er not obey!”

The two of them headed straight to the kitchen together, Liu Sisi lit the fire and started preparing dinner, and Ms. Xin, who was not particular about it, sat directly in front of the stove to help kindle the fire.

“Sigh! It’s much warmer here by the stove! I still remember before I was sold to Yihong Courtyard, our family was also terribly poor. My dad died early, and mom was dragging us four siblings along, and fell ill due to overwork, coughing blood all day. I think I was seven at that time, and the only pillar in our family, my big brother, developed a high fever. I remember the weather that day, it was as cold as today, so cold that my heart ached…”

Ms. Xin seemed to have fallen into her memories and fell silent.

Liu Sisi looked up at her, didn’t urge her either, but silently added two scoops of water to the pot, put the steaming basket on the water, took out the prepared dough and quickly kneaded it, filled it with the prepared bun filling, and put it in the steaming basket. All her movements were done in one go.

The filling of this bun was made by frying a mixture of cabbage, beast meat, and small dried shrimp, along with a little leftover meat and vegetables from the noon meal, Liu Sisi also chopped and added it in, it doesn’t matter since the cold weather and everyone loved it.

After a moment of silence, Cui’er stretched out her hand and added a piece of firewood to the stove: “That day I was sitting by the stove, warming myself with the fire. There wasn’t much firewood left at home, apart from cooking, no one would dare to burn it during the day. As mom was coughing, she walked in from outside and asked which one of us three sisters was willing to go with the old imperial nanny. Eldest sister started crying first, because she was already engaged, and the old nanny didn’t approve of the younger sister because she was too young. I then stood up from the stove and followed the old nanny.”

“Looking back, it was really cold that day…”

Ms. Xin leaned against the wall, her face intermittently illuminated by the fire which made her look uncertain.

Liu Sisi put the bun in her hand inside, added another steaming rack on top, and continued to make buns.

“How old were you then?”

“Me?”

Cui’er was obviously surprised that Liu Sisi would ask this question, she got up and added another log to the stove, and recalled for a while.

“I think I was seven years old. I remember my big brother was ten, my big sister was eight, and my little sister was five. But even by selling me, my mother still couldn’t save my big brother, and not long after my big brother died, my mother also followed. Later, I heard that my big sister had no choice but to take my little sister to her betrothed husband’s family. When they were twelve, they consummated their marriage, and a year later my big sister died during childbirth.”

Liu Sisi: “…Please accept my condolences.”

Apart from these two words, Liu Sisi did not know what else she could say.

“Condolences? For what should I receive condolences?”

Little Cui’er suddenly laughed, laughing so hard till her eyes welled up with tears.

“Do you know? Every person in Yihong Courtyard is utterly ruthless, once I couldn’t bear it any longer and ran out, only to find out that my home was gone. It was only later that I found out where my big sister and little sister were. I happily ran to them, but my big sister wouldn’t let me in because I was a prostitute.”

Liu Sisi looked up at her in surprise, her face twisted and ferocious, apparently noticing her gaze, she quickly lowered her head, hiding herself in the darkness.

“Why did I become a prostitute? Wasn’t it because I had no choice, my sacrifice allowed them to escape this disaster, but when they turned around, they thought I was dirty, they thought I was cheap, they repulsed me, they avoided me, I don’t even know why I stepped forward in the first place!”

Liu Sisi paused her work, let out a sigh, and put the last bun in her hand into the steaming basket, topped it off with the lid, and blocked the gap above with a damp cloth.

“Do you regret it? I’m asking you, if you could go back to that time again and make a choice all over again, would you make the same decision as you did back then?”

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